Pole Dance: An insight for beginners
- Sorry Not Sorry
- Feb 5, 2020
- 3 min read
Updated: Mar 9, 2020
Stepping into a pole dance class is an intimidating experience. There are many misconceptions shrouding pole dance as it is known to be exclusively from strippers in gentlemen’s clubs to hen dos. What immediately comes to mind when you think of pole dancing?
By Lauren Cole-Lomas
The room is wide and brightly lit with wooden flooring and full-length mirrors. The smooth familiar sound of Drake is melting through the speakers and, of course, five poles stand tall, gleaming in each corner of the room with one in the middle. The Pole Studio is a chain of well-respected pole dance classes that run nationally.
First-time attendees: jittery and nervous. Chaniqua, the instructor, is warm, friendly and strong with a whole lot of attitude. Her calm demeanour instantly relaxes everyone. The class begins with a warm-up session of pulse raisers and stretches.
Chaniqua runs through the basic moves compiling together a new routine, effortlessly twirling round the pole. Starting with a walk around the pole, the class soon learn some basic spins.
The atmosphere is heavy with an uncontrollable buzz. The feeling of learning a new dance move is undoubtedly addictive and beyond rewarding.
The challenging part: mustering up the mental strength to believe you can push your body to go the extra mile every week. Chaniqua welcomes attendees of all ages and all abilities, including a mother and daughter.
It should teach you to love and appreciate your body, as well as your own strength. Exploring your own sexuality and feeling empowered is something that pole dancers can achieve independently, whether that is dancing for sport or in a club.
Chaniqua, who is from Feltham in London, has been pole dancing for three years in total and has been teaching since January of 2019. She is still learning each week herself and practices on a pole at home.
As a university fresher at Hertfordshire studying International Business, Chaniqua discovered pole dance classes as an option of enriching courses, but never joined as a friend bailed out on going with her. It took three years for her to build up the courage to join a class independently.
“I wasn’t exactly embarrassed, but it’s that preconception of a pole that I had. I was even worried about having to wear short-shorts!” While teaching, Chaniqua wears the Pole Studio uniform shorts, an athletic black vest and usually sports a vibrant pop of colour on her nails; bright yellow.
Chaniqua at first did not tell her family she was pole dancing. Instead, one day she just bought a pole and assembled it in her family home: “I bought a pole, collected it and put it up. I didn’t say anything.”
“My mum walked past my room and just looked at it. My brother was about 16 and just joked saying he thought I worked in an office, not a club.”
“It is hard, I would never tell anyone it isn’t! Some people have a natural talent and others work at it a bit longer, but that’s okay. It’s normal to be covered in bruises and to feel sore when you start even if you only do a one hour class once a week, especially if it’s the only exercise you participate in. It really tests your strength, but by the end of the six-week course you feel stronger.”
“Don’t beat yourself up if you don’t get there. There were a few moves where I felt like I couldn’t do it. The ‘bendy-superman’ was quite a challenge. I once boycotted a move for weeks and one day, when I was at home and practiced, I got it. But, practicing is great ‘me’ time - just to clear your mind and do something for yourself.”
Chaniqua, flashing neon yellow nails, pulls out her phone and shows her Instagram page. It is full of impressive videos of her twisting around the pole and flipping upside down whilst suspended in mid-air. Seeing this makes it hard to imagine her as a beginner and ever even struggling.
She admits: “I wish I filmed and documented the beginner stages more, because people only document when they are at a good stage but it’s good to see your full progression.”
“I never want anyone to feel like they can’t do it,” Chaniqua advises. “You need time to process what you learn. You might not get something for the first time and its normal to get a mental block. If you get frustrated with yourself it is harder to learn. Try something else and come back to it later. It just clicks after some time and once you get it, it feels amazing.”
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